Publication Alert! IALH Research Fellow Denise Cloutier has co-authored a research article entitled Recent challenges and new possibilities with urban agriculture in Victoria, British Columbia with Abdolzaher Ghezeljeh and Jutta Gutberlet. It was published in The Canadian Geographer.

Abstract

Increasing urbanization generates new challenges for cities, including housing shortages, environmental degradation, public health concerns, and food security issues, just to mention a few. High levels of food insecurity can motivate planners to increase their support for community gardening forms of urban agriculture. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified many pressures of urban living. In this paper, we focus on challenges around urban agriculture activities, in particular, exploring regulatory approaches and limitations when it comes to growing food in cities. This study uses qualitative research methods to explore the main barriers to urban agriculture as perceived by community-based groups in Victoria, British Columbia. Data collection included 18 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, and two community mapping workshops with local residents, government officials, and non-governmental groups. Data analysis generated initial codes and themes that revealed “urban agriculture zones” and “garden-style” apartment housing as important avenues for urban agriculture projects. These findings are relevant in Victoria, where more than half of the population lives in apartments. A food action plan is a regulatory mechanism that can boost food production when aligned with the official community plan. Any progress towards far-reaching changes, however, requires an efficient urban agriculture development process, including creating site inventories, increasing stakeholder participation, reducing waitlists, and tackling high land prices.

To read the full article, see https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cag.12783